According to current studies, kids diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at an early age have chances of slower development of certain parts of the brain, which can lead to mild cognitive deficits.
A study was conducted on 138 children with Type 1 diabetes with a median age of seven years, and 66 kids of the same age without the condition. Type 1 diabetes causes the immune system to attack the insulin-producing cells, which helps in breaking down sugar into energy. Since the body cannot produce insulin, it needs to be inserted externally.
The participants had the disease for an average of 2.4 years at the beginning of the study. MRIs of the brain were done three times over the period – one at the beginning, a second after 18 months, and a third after three years. The results were then compared with the other group of children. Other health tests, like blood tests and cognitive tests, were also conducted. The total cortical and subcortical gray and white matter of kids with T1D had slower growth than the other group at all time points of the research. A relationship has also been deduced between slower brain growth of areas and higher average blood sugar levels.
When cognitive functions like thinking and memory skills were compared, a significant difference of 5 to 7 points was found between these two groups of kids. Dr. Nelly Mauras, head of the pediatric endocrinology division at Nemours Children's Health System in Jacksonville, Florida, and co-principal investigator of the study said, “There are detectable differences in IQ, particularly verbal IQ and vocabulary.”
The data is pretty concerning, and there's a dire need of checking the blood sugar level in kids. To develop proper health strategy for kids and to cater to their diabetes-related cognitive dysfunctions in later life, it is imperative to understand the impacts on their brain at an early stage.
Having said that, Mauras also states, "There are plenty of smart kids with type 1 diabetes. But these data, along with others, show that the status quo [for blood sugar management] probably isn't good enough to prevent diabetes complications in the brain."
These kids with T1D are not cognitively compromised, but there are some minor changes in their brain’s development. So, families with children living with such conditions shouldn’t become excessively bothered about their kids and lose their sleep over this fact. Proper care should be taken, and treatment should be continued to achieve tight blood sugar control.
Mauras said, "Ongoing research is investigating whether diligent maintenance of blood sugar levels in the normal range through advanced diabetes technologies can impact these findings to reduce the risk for cognitive dysfunction."
While the findings have been presented, they are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.